Justice News

Witness in Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Trial Indicted in Alabama for Perjury

An indictment was unsealed today charging Nacretia Lewis with perjury and lying to a federal agent, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned the sealed indictment on Jan. 19, 2012. It was unsealed following Lewis’s arrest.

According to the indictment, Lewis is alleged to have testified falsely in a fraud trial that took place in the Middle District of Alabama in September 2011. The defense in that case presented an alibi defense regarding the whereabouts of the defendant on trial, Janika Fernae Bates, on Jan. 20, 2011. Lewis is alleged to have falsely testified that she was with Bates at a place other than their workplace, at precisely the same time other trial witnesses placed Bates at that workplace. The indictment also alleges that, after her testimony, Lewis met with federal agents and again lied about her whereabouts and Bates’ whereabouts on Jan. 20, 2011. After a five-day trial, Bates was convicted of 13 felony counts, including identity theft and tax fraud charges, and sentenced to 94 months in federal prison.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Lewis faces a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Justin Gelfand and Jason Poole of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting this case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.